Portable workbench

I wanted to construct a solid work bench based on the EAA. bench, yet I needed it to be portable and easily moved or broken down for storage. This is what I came up with using Stanley Fat Max adjustable height saw horse's from the Depot. FYI, they are awesome horse's and worth the $. First, be sure to make the base of 2x4's straight and eliminate any bow or curve by screwing on a temporary plywood ripping quide as a straight edge and rip them with a tabel saw. This will insure a flat working surface for the 3/4" ply. see the second pic.

Not bad. I have casters on mine. Moving them is no problem. Since I have no space problem I don't need them folded.

That's neat Al. Are the horses out of metal or heavy duty plastic? You may use them later for fuse support if you didn't already. However what I noticed with light duty tables you can not do certain work on them. You can if you are skilled and precise but the table is somewhat shaky and can move. There are several pieces say canopy or main gear legs drilling which require very solid and stable surface. Backriveting too. EAA tables are the best benches ever invented. I built three of them, then when I needed shorter support I cut one in two, put fuse on it, finished, discarded. Second one I modified/extended to the length of a RV9 flap. Done, gave away (wasteful I know) because of limited shop and growing project. Now only one bench is left and it goes to the hangar. BTW how much are those horses?

Horses.

Hi Vlad. The horses are made from Heavy Guage Alum. and heavy plastic.
The adjustable legs work very well in 1" increments. You can even put shims under the 2x4's between the horse's to make the surface level on two planes.
The cost, I forgot, a little pricey, $50.00 or so for the pair i think. I use them a lot for other projects as well. You can most likely find them on Home depot online. Stanley Fat Max. By the way, they have 1 1/2" slots in them to recieve the 2x4's. This makes for great stability.

An old ironing boards or two work great for temporary workbenches. Especially when the parts are skinned.

For many, if not most of the tasks you will work on while building an RV, the large size of the typical EAA workbench isn't required. I built the standard EAA workbench and I use it a lot, but I also built a smaller portable one that I use at least as much, if not more, than the larger workbench. Here's a picture of it during the construction of my center section:



If you look close just under the top, you'll see that I installed a pair of handles off an old wheelbarrow. These pivot on the bolt that holds them and lift up easily. When lifted up, the bench tilts forward just a little bit and wheels mounted on the forward side of the front legs contact the floor allowing me to wheel this little workbench around just like a wheelbarrow. When you set it back down, the front wheels come up off the floor and it rests once again on its legs. This little bench has proven to be extremely handy for me all throughout the building of my empennage, wings, and fuselage. And for other non-RV tasks as well.



Here's another picture of it. This time I had my little bandsaw sitting on it and my Dad was cutting out the stiffeners for my fuel tanks. I wheeled it outside whenever I could, to make cleanup a breeze. Just hose off the driveway.



I also have holes drilled in it for mounting my bench vice with bolts & nuts, for those times when it's needed. I could go on and on. It's very versatile. I'll be happy to provide more pics and details if anyone is interested.

I think one of the biggest surprises for me from posting this thread is that I do not need nearly as big of a bench as I originally thought. Thanks.

bobhope2505 said:

I think one of the biggest surprises for me from posting this thread is that I do not need nearly as big of a bench as I originally thought. Thanks.

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Need? Probably not. I have one that measures 8' x 3' and, while it's wonderful to have that much work surface available when you need it, I also find that it's often reduced to about 2' x 3' of work space and 6' x 3' of clutter.

I built a 1/2 size EAA 1000 workbench on casters and put my belt sander, buffer, band saw and drill press on it. I think the best idea is whatever you build or buy, put it on casters so you can move it when you need to.

Bowling alley table

I "inherited" a ten-foot section of a bowling alley lane. It's ten feet long, 42 inches wide, is super flat, super strong, and...super HEAVY.

It had been used on at least two RV's (an 8 and a 9) before I got it. I think the other guys had it mounted on saw horses but I wanted something better for my shop.

So I built a support structure of 2x4's and some plywood. Between the legs on each end I designed a lift structure which is on casters. Granted, it's not the optimum design, and if I were to do it over again, I'd probably do a couple of things differently, but since I only move it maybe once a year to sweep or just slightly rearrange my shop, it works great. I only have to pick the legs up about 1/4 inch. Each end has one of those cheap hydraulic jacks from Wal-Mart or H-F that pushes down on the lift structure and lifts the table legs off the floor. I can easily move it around my shop by myself. There's no way I could safely move that beast of a table by myself without some kind of wheels beneath it. I would take a photo but my shop is rather cluttered.

I don't really need that size table, but since it was given to me, I really didn't want to cut it.

Whatever works...!

P.S. I also have a couple of those Tony Bingelis tables with multiple power tools on each. And rather than scrap a section of bathroom counter top, I cut it to a square and used scrap 2x4's to make legs and a shelf under it. It's also on casters. H-F often has casters on sale.

For our new build, we decided to try a big work table - mostly because the pallet the new kit came on was 10'x4', and served as a great base and table top - all we had to add were some 2x4's and casters. So far, doing parts sorting and inventory, the large surface is wonderful! Louise and I can each have our own project on opposite sides and hardly get in each other's way....

Bigger is often better, but easier to get a twist in.

Yet another compromise in things aeronautical.

Al, could you give a little more explanation about: "screwing on a temporary plywood ripping quide as a straight edge", along with some more explanation about the picture in the lower left corner.
I know why you are doing this -- hard to find a decent 2x4 in my local HD and it sure would be nice to get a straight edge for the tables I need to make. I just don't quite get what you did before ripping them on the table saw.

Thanks, Dave

Which one?

Ironflight said:

For our new build, we decided to try a big work table - mostly because the pallet the new kit came on was 10'x4', and served as a great base and table top - all we had to add were some 2x4's and casters. So far, doing parts sorting and inventory, the large surface is wonderful! Louise and I can each have our own project on opposite sides and hardly get in each other's way....

Click to expand...

Paul,
That work bench bears a slight resemblance to packaging from company S. So, are you going to be converting Jet A to noise, chasing thermals, or will you be looking good on (or is it in) the hangar deck of the USS Midway?

Tom

ifixf15 said:

Paul,
That work bench bears a slight resemblance to packaging from company S. So, are you going to be converting Jet A to noise, chasing thermals, or will you be looking good on (or is it in) the hangar deck of the USS Midway?

Tom

Click to expand...

Chasing thermals (or mountain wave)...for now! But that's for another forum....